4th quarter plagues Iowa women again at Purdue

A new starting lineup couldn't jump-start the Hawkeyes on Sunday, and Iowa lost to Purdue, 90-73, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

Iowa (13-7, 3-5 Big Ten) has now lost three straight, and five of its last six games.

'I think a lot of problems are between our ears right now,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'We've got to figure that out before any magic play is going to work.”

Megan Gustafson made the first start of her career and had seven points and zero rebounds. Tania Davis started for the third time this season, and had seven assists to go with 14 points.

'Tania did a great job,” Bluder said. 'Megan didn't get any rebounds, and I'm concerned about that.

'(Lineup change) was something we needed to try. Both of them responded well.”

Purdue (15-4, 6-2) led 43-40 at halftime, then Iowa's shooting went cold in the second half, preventing any comeback.

After shooting 62.5 percent in the first half (15 of 24), Iowa shots 42.3 percent in the second half (11 of 26), including just 1 of 8 from 3-point range.

'That was the big story of this game,” Bluder said.

Purdue out-rebounded Iowa 34-20, and forced Iowa into 19 turnovers.

Ally Disterhoft led the Hawkeyes with 21 points. Christina Buttenham came off the bench to add 14 points.

'Christina had a really nice game,” Bluder said. 'It was nice to see the fight she came in with.”

Kali Peschel did not play due to a violation of team rules. She had started the first 19 games.

Iowa will try to regroup before a home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Michigan (11-8, 3-5).

'Our last two home performances haven't been very good,” Bluder said. 'It is our house. We'll make sure everyone understands that.”